Drill Milky Punch

Take control of characters from age’s Kimi ga Nozomu Eien and Muvluv, and bash as many enemies as you can in a contest of survival! Test your skills against the computer in time attack mode, or take part in an up to 6 player battle-royale with some friends.

Fan-made games tend to be hit or miss, but Drill Milky Punch is certainly above average. This cute little game is a source of some mindless action that can be surprisingly fun. While no actual story exists to comment on, with a mostly female cast of characters from two dating sims trying to bash each other and everything else in their way, it doesn’t take much imagination to conjure up a plot.

The gameplay is simplistic, yet not without a mildly addicting quality. Up to six people can take part in a round, fighting off wave after wave of weird creatures. The controls are straightforward, making dMP an easy game to pick up and play. Depending on the strength of a player’s attack, enemies will fly varying distances; hitting another enemy results in a domino effect that will quickly clear some space. Survival becomes increasingly difficult with each passing second, the quick rate of enemy regeneration leading to rather intense endgame moments.

Clean and colourful is the standard for dMP, and there is a reasonably diverse selection of both characters to fight as and beings to fend off. However, with having more than a thousand enemies on screen a frequent occurrence, the game can be prone to slowdowns. Battles can take place on several “stages,” although they are essentially static backgrounds and functionally identical. Audio is by far the weakest aspect of the game, with repetitive and forgettable music, and sound effects that literally give the impression of everything from “nails on chalkboard” to “screeching cat.” Eliminating 100 monsters is somehow less satisfying when accompanied by a symphony of 100 screeching cats clawing a chalkboard. The single player mode does become a bit tiresome rather quickly, with a few unlockable characters that are relatively easily obtained. Multiplayer brawls are quite the entertaining diversion however. Fitting six people onto one PC demands the use of a few gamepads, but a game that supports so many players in simultaneous play isn’t that commonplace these days. Matches with friends are reminiscent of old-school Bomberman (or one of its many clones), though less strategic and much more frantic.

All in all, though the solo play may not be up to par, Drill Milky Punch is a good choice as a fun, light, anime-themed party game.